What's woody wood, grasshoppers? Looks like J Cole had ruffled some feathers...some cats on Long Island feel a way about him joking on their hood...peep the vid below CLICK HERE to watch from your phone And ever since then... ...a million and one diss tracks about J Cole from Long Island rappers have flooded the internet Most of them, if not all, are wack as hell...let's keep it a stack...attention whoring ain't gangsta On the other hand... ...I can understand why they wanna get at Cole about the joke he made on stage If someone disses your hood, you're expected to get at them by all means The problem is, J Cole cracks jokes about someone being from the town where he's performing...it's part of his routine...no harm, no foul Not only that... ...the J Cole diss tracks I heard are garbage truck wack juice Which brings me to Reek Da Villain, formerly of the Flipmode Squad As the most well-known rapper from Long Island of his generation, the self-proclaimed "King of Long Island" took it upon himself to lead the charge against Cole Peep the video below (CLICK HERE to peep on your phone) If you ask me, the track is lukewarm Dude missed a golden opportunity to bring all eyes on his hood by NOT droppin' a classic diss track against one of the biggest names in Hip-Hop Hey...
...it worked for Tim Dawg when he dropped "Fuck Compton"
I personally believe that headz are using this opportunity to get some publicity by dissing Cole, because if they were REALLY serious about disliking him on the strength of the joke, they need a reality check to cash and buy a life By the way... ...Long Island is NOT soft I repeat Long Island is NOT soft
Don't get it fucked up, there's more to Strong Island than wine, fishing, and the iced tea I remember when my ex-girlfriend's mother had told me Long Island was soft before I went off to college... ...she's from Brooklyn So my first impression of L.I. before hittin up a Spring open house at a school in Hempstead was a lily white suburb on the outskirts of the Rotten Apple NOPE! Maaaaaaaaan, I was shell shocked when I stepped off the Long Island Rail Road @ the Hempstead Terminal
The Stead looked HOOD as hell, and still is
I remember telling this dude from Baltimore at a ski trip awhile back to stop sleepin' on Long Island when it comes to that street shit as he thought shit didn't pop off in the 'burbs Shout out to Hempstead, Uniondale, Roosevelt (Exit 21), Freeport, Amityville, Wyandanch, Brentwood, Central Islip, New Cassell, Elmont, Huntington, and Riverhead Oh yeah... ...Reek dissed Fayetteville on the track, too Fayetteville, North Carolina (where J Cole is from) isn't a walk in the park...I'm not the one to glorify violence, but them cats in the country don't play...real talk Just like how Reek might feel a way about headz under-estimating Long Island's gangster, I think he might wanna pause about Fayetteville as well Them country boys get busy And on that note... ...I'm out Peace and Afro Grease Nah'Sun the Great @ www.nahsunblaze.com P.S. One love to Dejah Joyner... ...the 12-year-old girl girl who got killed in her home @ Hempstead Heights last week by a stray bullet
The L.I. cats that's fuckin' around makin' diss tracks about J Cole should put their time and energy to rap about squashing the fuckery that goes on in their hood CLICK HERE for the story
What's woody wood, grasshoppers? We finally got what we've been waiting for...
Loaded Lux vs Charlie Clips I RECAPPED this jawn because I didn't give a fuck about the other battles on the URL (Ultimate Rap League) Summer Madness 5 card I'm just keepin' it a stack Besides the fuckery during the coin toss and between rounds, this jawn is classic Straight up The battle had everything: bars, flow, personals, drama, freestyle, jokes and crowd reaction So let's get down to it ROUND 1 (6:50 start in the clip) Lux came out swinging...his flow was on point with schemes for days...out of all Lux's rounds in the battle, this is my favorite from the one they nicknamed "Beloved" And the funny thing is... ...I think a lot of his rhymes had went over a lot of folks' headz at first listen including mine Alot of headz didn't peep why Lux repeated Clips's name before he started his round People in a game use two pencils and shape them to a cross and say, "Charlie Charlie, are you there?" to see if the demon spirit is real...if there's no response, the spirit is fake...Lux is low key calling Clips a fraud They also slept on Lux's other punches and schemes in the first 1. "As much flack as you got from not being in L.A. with them sneakers" 2. The Pizza Scheme... 3. Sending a message taking characters (Twitter) 4. Suited up, forever slacks. Prep... 5. Tits. Broad layers... "Just cuz you got tits, bra (bruh), don't mean you be thinking in +broad (a chick) layers+" 6. Bootleg. Copy that, Clips a fraud... "You got to look at how the +bootleg cut+ if you +copy+ that, this +Clips+ a fraud//this +pictures+ off" 7. Pillsbury doughboy/Boys N the Hood line...
8. Sike I lied... (Hollow Da Don trademarking Clips's slogan) 9. Cell phone scheme (Sprint, TMobile, Sim) "You can't tell that to a nigga without a car, just him//And his +T-mobile+ the minute you roll over, try to play you like a +Sim+ (the video game/sim card)//That was him//All the ex-producers and managers planning to be in my +top five fave+ friends//'til they figured they ain't got drive for the long run that's when they came to +Sprint+//but this a marathon we in" 10. Ben Stiller line.. 11. Audi logo/Bandages scheme "This is what happens when these niggas get mentally famished//and can't handle it//their mental feeds be fishing, they can't manage it//'cuz they ain't bread (bred) for this type of meet (meat), but you could hook up the sandwiches//I mean, look, you got what ever type of advantages//Could be damages//Standing in your lobby thinking how he//Put his rounds together that's a sign, that nigga Audi//I been planning this//to rap (wrap) circles around a body, nigga, you're lucky it could be bandages" 12. Malcolm with the rifle line (click the photo below for a better read)
13. "Raisin on a nigga like dried prunes" But what blew my mind was how I missed the schizophrenic scheme and the reason why Lux had changed clothes before his round "You can say I'm a preacher, a Panther, Rich Porter, a YMCA dancer//Whatever, they gonna laugh, you're entertaining//I just figured in the age//Where trigger fingers turn to Twitter fingers//Don't be sending a message, take a certain number of characters to explain it//Like how me, myself, and I, already dangerous, but schizophrenic//You with a Harlem hustler, that will black out with the shotguns on the stages//I kill you in front of mom free of charge, and then pay for your whole funeral arrangements (click the photo below for a better read)
Don't get it fucked up, tho... ...Clips did his thing, too (14:11 start in the clip) The first was also his strongest in my opinion The more entertaining Clips rocked the crowd...they were clearly on his side...his flow was easier to follow, and he threw a haymaker when he rhymed... "Oh, you talkin to me while the crowd goin' crazy, you don't know to work the heckler//Stomach shot, paramedics surprised, they don't know how to work the stretcher//He said 'Harlem Hospital giving beds out,' that'll work whatever//But the hole so big, Harlem Hospital and Presbyterian gotta work together!" 1. The God Blessing scheme 2. The Clips wannabe Loaded (Lux) scheme 3. The Fabolous line 4. The paralyze line 5. Home's Improvement/Ceiling line 6. The Puma line 7. Battle on the roof/Ass bettin' The Uber and the Will Smith lines were questionable... ...you pay AFTER the ride with Uber, and the movie was I Am Legend, NOT Independence Day ROUND 2 (Lux 23:30 start in the clip) Lux schemed heavy in the second round, and got the crowd on his side with a more simpler and comical approach Dude even busted out in a freestyle twice with the Wavy and hospital lines
Peep the highlights from Lux's second... "These type niggas, they for y'all, that's like that show on Starz// Nah, I'm into authentic Power//When in an hour you ain't gotta act like,"50 cent ain't enough", so disrespect? You allow it// How you talkin' principle (principal) shit? Well, I never attended Howard// But as a student of the game, I know you can't just claim to be a man and not put on those trousers// I watched you gun talk a nigga for 3 minutes straight, my nigga, bullet showers//We just want to know where was the tech when Big Cheese kept your 7 hundred and fifty dollars" "This happens when you get to guessin' at the debates//Chess is what I play//And if Coutour (Clips's girlfriend) know the game, she know it's over once a nigga get +checked+ in front of his +mate+" "I came to fight, fat boy, sleeves up//I roll up on this nigga like a pants cuff//Break his whole dance up//Pop Lock//I wanna hold tall Couture, handsome//How long u gone cockblock?//'What's the time, Smack?'//Why yo fake shooters always worried bout the shot clock?//you stop watch ass nigga, prolly a laptop over backshots//That flabby bag ain't built to last//you get in, pull the trigger fast//This BLACK ass not BLACK OPS//You a Charlie CLIPS, I'm FULLY LOADED//You just a trailer in my movie, SNAPSHOT//Ain't no future in frontin', BACKDROP//You in here with the main attraction, MASCOT" A lot of people thought Lux's second round was his dopest Me personally... ...I thought his second was light compared to the first His finish wasn't as strong as the first Oh yeah, Lux also dissed Smack on the low "You (Clips) the only nigga in battle rap with a 360 deal, nigga//You let this hairy nigga play J. G. Wintworth" (referring to Smack)
People didn't even catch that low key diss Now on to Charlie (Clips 29:50 start in the clip) Clips once again entertained the crowd with the Don't Be a Menace joke
For those who don't know, Lux became known as a conscious eMCee since his battle with Calicoe, and a few headz have been mocking him about his style change ever since That's why Clips played on the joke with the kufi and glasses, acting like the righteous character from the movie That shit Clips did was funny as hell, tho... ...I can't lie The Lux impression he pulled was hilarious and hella entertaining
I think Clips lost his luster in this round...his rhymes were "eh"...the jokes were cool, but I thought Clips did better with incorporating jokes WITH the bars in the first round And I think that's why the crowd booed Clips before he finished his second The Roy Rogers/Popeyes line was dope, tho
Now on to the third and last round Round 3
(Lux 38:35 start in the clip) If anyone had Lux and Clips tied at this point, I think this round was the most defining moment of the battle
This round was the most personal...
...and Lux most definitely brought heat to Clips
We just gon' share that half a square while we wait here and park at the scene//this the spot where Rex popped off, and didn't accomplish a thing//I'm taking shots//but I'ma stop off at every bar in between//What Arnold got, the schwarzr-nigga strong on the machine//pull up sharp, when I come out the rock like Arthur the king
Lux's rhyme scheme in those bars were crazy
What got me open was when he spat...
You and yo punk ass daddy a couple of chatty pattys, nigga//Acting catty, meow//Math was swinging, you was standing there playing caddy//I thought you was a killer, Charles? LeRay//I thought Chuckie wasn't no joke?, He just think he DeRay//You might be a DJ, the way you turn on niggas in the jam you in//You switched on Cor & Chamberz, after you let they man get whipped//Dammit Clips//I know +comedians+ don't do candid script//And you a funny acting ass nigga, too, but that wasn't no +stand up+ shit
Dope
And then the paperwork about Clips's pops snitching on The Lynch Mob, the drug crew that operated on Lenox Ave and 142nd Street in Harlem...according to documents, a Feds magazine article, and former members of the crew, Clips's pops, Charles "Fat Leon" Brown, cooperated with the government and then reneged on the deal at the stand which got him LIFE in federal prison
Lux name drops Farris Phillips and Lou Simms in the round, former members of The Lynch Mob who copped pleas instead of flippin' on the crew (click the photos below for a better read)
Lux used that angle to say how Clips shared the same charactistics as his pops by throwing fellow battle eMCees Cortez and D Chamberz under the bus during his battle against Hollow Da Don
And the funny thing is, what made Lux's 3rd round hit home was when Clips told the world the private convo he had with Verb about how to battle Lux in that same round
"The apple don't fall far from the tree" - Lux
If Smack didn't stop Lux from rhyming the second time, I think he would've destroyed Clips...real talk...from what I saw, Lux was about to say some shit to burn Clips's soul if he already didn't before the round ended
I've never seen a serious looking Clips rattled during a battle Then it was on Clips (Clips 50:20 start in the clip)
Clips tried to rebuttal Lux's claims of his pops snitchin' by saying how Faybach's pops's was a snitch, too
Faybach is the light skinned cat who brought out the paperwork of Clips's pops supposedly cooperating with the government in the battle
I think Clips took too long with trying to rebuttal Lux's 3rd round...he should've stuck with the program by using at least four bars to address the issue, and then going back into his writtens...he didn't start cookin' until late in the round, but by then, it was too late
I got the mind of a Martin Luther//Look at me, king, you should be proud of me//And I shall overcome, on your girl's lips while she's mouthin' me//I Had a Dream, that all these people in the front row was comin' out for me//And how ironic, they watchin me lose my mind from the balcony
That scheme from Clips was hard
The time limit killed the battle, but I still thought the joint was classic...you saw everything, rhymes, drama, fuckery, personals and crowd participation, and with that said...
...I gave Lux the battle 3-0 (no bodybag)
Lux had a FOCUS; a main idea (assassinate Clips's character persona)...
...Clips, on the other hand, stirred up jokes, punchlines and rebuttals in a pot of gumbo and cooked up his rounds
At first, I said the battle was debatable...I had Clips winning round 1 with Lux bagging the 2nd and 3rd...the more I watched the battle, I got Lux edging the 1st (that round was the most debatable to me)
If anybody got Clips, I wouldn't be mad...I just felt Lux's material more...Clips won in the room, but Lux's style is timeless to the point where he never gets old on repeated watches because you constantly catch hidden jewels you never caught in the first few views "+Dead+ niggaz are always +late+" - Lux using a metaphor of a clock and a battle emcee dying on stage (when someone dies, you call them the late (insert name here)
Some headz might say you shouldn't have to watch a battle numerous times to pick a definitive winning, but to be honest with you...I don't think Lux is necessarily aiming to win in the room
He's rapping to the camera, not the crowd...battle rap to him is a legacy...and the method to the madness of giving the audience more for the future is what brings freshness to his battles
The comedy from Clips had me laughing...on the flip side, you can't play games with a lyricist like Lux whose pen game is superior...even though I got Lux beating Hollow Da Don 2-1, I still think Hollow legitimately cracked the code on how to beat Lux (if you say Hollow had won) by not trying to out-rap Lux
You gotta use angles to get over on Lux because lyrically too advanced to beat
Aight, family...I gotta finish this new book I'm cookin' up...it's been whoopin' my ass the past few months, but I see the finish line in my horizon
I know I'm maaaaaaad late on this issue on some Colored People Time shit...which is no pun to what I'm about to talk about...I wanna touch on the Rachel Dolezal fiasco right quick
You know shorty...she's the former chapter President of NAACP who paraded around as a Black woman for years even though she's really white...funny shit, ain't it?
Okay, for one, I don't believe she's crazy...
...that's too much of a cop out
She sued Howard University for discrimination before she decided to her call herself Black, and that alone rules out anything that speaks of mental illness
For two, Black people are something else
I take that back...
...NEGROES who think Rachel is doing us a favor by denouncing her whiteness are something else LOL But seriously, Black people, talk to me, or at least think about what I'm about to tell you
Why do you NEED Rachel to want to be Black?
Will that make you feel better about yourself?
Will this white woman sense of mimickry validate your life?
I already know Black people are awesome and amazing...popular culture copies the Black American style every day (Life would be better if society was more in love with Black people as whole rather than just the culture, but that's another issue)...I'm already in love with my ancestry...I never needed white America to wear my culture, literally as skin, to feel good about US
Why should a woman walking around in blackface who lied about everything under the sun be the cost of humanizing us to the world?
Headz are quick to overlook the fraud and deception because somehow her frontin' about who she is makes them feel loved...get yourselves together, please...what she did wasn't love, admiration or flattery...she's a damn con artist Simple as that She would've been MORE EFFECTIVE at fighting for Black people as a white woman because it shows that white folks aren't afraid to walk in the front lines to combat systematic racism and discrimination
Bottom line
The made-up stories about her life as Black woman also hinders the fight that Black women go through for real
I mean, damn...
...it's bad enough that society already think we're paranoid about the shit we go through on a regular basis
What's woody wood, grasshoppers? Ayo, shit is reeeeeeeeal out on these streets Lifestyle promoter extraordinaire Missy King hosted an event this past weekend in Yonkers...you know, the city in Westchester County...home of DMX, The Lox, and Mary J Blige, baby
Y.O.!!!
But fuck all that... ...let's get to the nitty gritty Everything was good last Saturday night...you had food, drinks, the Mayweather fight, the works...not to mention gettin' raunchy if you felt like gettin' down and dirty on some grown folk shit, nah'mean. Speaking of Mayweather, I'm tired of muh'fuckas talkin' 'bout this duckin' and dancin' crap...the object of boxing is NOT get hit...and that's exactly what Floyd have done throughout his career Flawless, baby 49 and 0 He left the game, and made money hand over fist with his brain in tact Now what?
Anyway, after the night of debauchery, some fuckery happened the next day...that Sunday...someone decided to torch the house on some John Blaze shit...yep, I guess someone was mad about not getting pussy at the party LOL But seriously, let's not think so fast and blame Lifestyle "hate"...I seriously doubt someone in the LS was that gangster enough to risk their freedom over jealousy because their parties aren't poppin'...real talk Emotional responses lead to unnecessary judgment...while everybody and their mamas are pointing the finger at jealousy, I wouldn't be surprised if either the owner of the house that was rented for the party had beef with some individuals...I also wouldn't be surprised if the arson was an inside job...so let's pump the brakes and let po po do their thing with the investigation before everybody get their Law and Order on I mean, damn... ...there was no sign of forced entry I'm sayin', tho
Shit like that makes me wanna bust out and chant one of my favorite ol school joints...
The roof! the roof! the roof is on fiiiireeee!...
...we don't need no water let the muthafucka buuuurn!
What?!
Burn muthafuckaaaaa!
What?!
Buuurrrn!
Aight, let me stop bullshittin'
I don't have much else to say except love, peace, and sooooooooul
They say 85 percent of success is hustle and the rest is talent.
Michael Evans has them both. (Not the Michael Evans from the TV show Good Times...the REAL Mike Evans...ha ha!)
You might come across the grind-driven New Yorker anywhere on the sidewalks of the five boroughs hawking his books to potential readers. You never know when you'll run into Mike and his array of books. Whether standing with books in his hands on Jamaica Avenue in Queens or charming potentials on the world famous 125th street in Harlem, Mike consistently sets up shop rain or shine with a table full of books. If the independent grind is an art, he's Picasso; painting pictures with words to breathe life from pen to paper.
Evans is the author of the popular book series, Son of a Snitch. The Snitch series has gained him a wide audience in the Tri-Statewith an ever expanding readership in the country. Now that you know of his books, meet the man sometimes referred to as Midtown Mike, a colloquialism that pays homage to the Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan neighborhood where he was raised.
Nah'Sun - How many times did you want to leave the book industry because of shady dealings, or if you thought the industry was changing for the worse? If so, why?
Mike - Never (did I think about quitting), because I grew up on the streets of midtown Manhattan with pimps, prostitutes and con men who used devious tactics to accomplish what they wanted. This chaotic, larceny-hearted atmosphere prepared me for all the shady business dealings in the book publishing industry. Any industry that deals with lots of money will have people trying to manipulate you out of it.
Nah'Sun - How can anyone fix the book industry if it needs fixing?
Mike - The best way to fix it is to offer book readers better product, and stop writing cookie cutter storylines that are far from being original. Authors also have to monetarily put a higher value on their creative endeavors. If quality product is offered, readers will pay a fair price. 13 years ago when I first entered the book industry, readers paid 15 to 10 dollars for my books when I did book signings. Then book publishers started offering five dollar paperback books and one dollar E-books. Some of these books were not properly written and had multiple grammatical mistakes. This made a lot of the book buying public stop purchasing books. I feel in order to make it in the book industry, a person must find cheaper ways to promote using social media, multiple book signings, and by thinking outside the box. You can have the best product, but if nobody knows about it, you have nada.
Nah'Sun - Tell my readers the time when Barnes and Noble had approached you about distributing your first book
Mike - One time, I was doing the Harlem Book Fair - book signing, and these two guys watched me sell a whole lot of books, and (they) then approached me. They were book buyers from Barnes & Noble (B&N), and they gave me a card to start doing business with them. B&N purchased 1000 (of my) books, and through the years we continued having productive business dealings.
Nah'Sun - What is the best way to connect with a potential buyer?
Mike - Book signings, social media promoting through radio interviews, television, magazines and events where lots of people gather. Also word of mouth helps a lot.
Nah'Sun - Explain the do's and don'ts of selling books on the street or @ a book fair?
Mike - An author during book signings must definitely know how to get his point across real quick. The attention span of any potential customer is not long. Be very respectful and do not look down on anyone who comes to your table during book signings. Multiple times I have encountered with people who looked like they are broke, but winded up purchasing all four of my books. If you are trying to sell somebody something, you cannot be shy and scared to talk about your products. I once did a book signing at Temple University with six bestselling authors. As they sat down acting like ego driven literary geniuses, I stood up and went into yap/yap mode talking about my books to all potential customers walking by in the crowded event. I began selling books in frenzy while these other authors could not sell anything. One-by-one they (the other authors) got up and left. I winded up selling 218 books. To do well in any business, you have to know how to sell your product; oil to an Arab, raid to a roach…ha ha!
Nah'Sun - Tell me the wildest thing you saw while selling books
Mike - While doing book signings, I have encountered all types of situations because of dealing with different people and personalities. Some will make you laugh, curse you out, offer constructive criticisms, offer crazy philosophies and also provide you with helpful information. I have people come up, not knowing I wrote the books being sold and tell me they wrote the book or some of their cousins wrote it. But I hate when people sarcastically say, "I can't read." I always tell them, "I will pray for you!" The wildest thing I saw while doing a book signing was when a guy bumped into another guy. They began to argue and the guy turned his back to walk away; unbeknownst to him, a gun was being pulled out. He would have winded up dead if not for the woman making the other guy put his gun away.
Nah'Sun - What motivates you to grind and not give up?
Mike - A fear of being broke. A Wise man once said, "Although you might be rich, still grind like a poor man." Through rain, sleet or snow, I grind hard. Never let the weatherman predict your money.
Nah'Sun - What would you say to someone who wants to throw in the towel and quit?
Mike - Giving up should never be an option because life cost money. Even if things don't seem to work out for you, it is always a learning experience. Only go-getters make it in this crazy world.
Nah'Sun - What do you say to someone who has a shy personality, but wants to hit the bricks and hawk their books?
Mike - The squeaky wheel gets oil. It’s hard for shy people to make it in business because you have to engage potential customers. If you are not confident and somewhat outgoing, you will lose their interest. I am not saying you have to jump up and down, do back flips, and be some entertainer, but be able to get your point across in a good manner.
